Fifty schools join Get Skills to Work Initiative

The Get Skills to Work Initiative announced that more than 50 colleges are now part of the coalition of industry, educators, and non-profit organizations helping veterans discover careers in advanced manufacturing. Get Skills to Work, a partnership among the Manufacturing Institute, GE, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Alcoa, and more than 500 manufacturing companies, will work with these institutions of higher education to further expand accelerated training and certification opportunities for U.S. veterans in advanced manufacturing.

“The Manufacturing Institute is proud to partner with these outstanding schools who are committed to investing in veterans and workforce training that has a real impact in communities across the country,” said Jennifer McNelly, The Manufacturing Institute's president. “Working with educators and employers, we are creating real opportunities for transitioning service members to get the skills they need to access in-demand manufacturing careers.”

“As one of the first schools to partner with Get Skills to Work, we’re excited to see 49 more schools joining us in teaching veterans manufacturing skills,” said Thomas J. Snyder, the Ivy Tech Community College's president. “Through Get Skills to Work, we’ve welcomed veterans onto our campuses and see the motivation and discipline they bring to learning new manufacturing skills.”

At a time when the manufacturing industry has a well-documented skills gap, veterans represent an important pipeline of talented workers. Many veterans have training and experience that match up to manufacturing careers, in areas as diverse as welding, machining, logistics, and maintenance. For those veterans requiring additional training and industry certifications to prepare for the civilian manufacturing workforce, accelerated postsecondary programs can bridge the gap for transitioning veterans. That is why expanding educational opportunities through Get Skills to Work is so important to the manufacturers in the coalition. The schools prioritize veterans in their training programs, align programs to manufacturing industry certifications, and maximize opportunities for veterans to use their GI Bill and other benefits toward technical training.

Veterans such as Daniel Brewer and James Giuffre are helping close the skills gap after graduating from the Get Skills to Work training program at Cincinnati State. Brewer, a Navy veteran, is now using the skills he acquired while working on an aircraft and perfected them through Get Skills to Work as a technician with GE Aviation. Giuffre, an Ohio National Guardsman, returned from a tour in Afghanistan with many skills but no job. Since taking part in Get Skills to Work, he secured a job at an advanced manufacturing facility outside of Cincinnati.

The full list of schools engaged can be found here. Schools, companies and veterans interested in joining this effort or learning more can visit GetSkillstoWork.org or on Facebook and Twitter.